Illinois
100.0
All-items parity, US = 100.0
Relocation Comparison | IL vs FL
Illinois vs Florida Cost of Living 2026: 100.0 vs 103.4
A counterintuitive comparison: Illinois is cheaper than Florida on the BEA all-items price parity for 2024, 100.0 against 103.4, with the US level at 100.0. The price gap is only 3.4 percent, so it decides very little on its own. Florida has no income tax, Illinois has the second-highest property tax in the country (1.97 percent effective), and Florida's home insurance market has repriced since 2022. The answer depends on income, age, and lifestyle rather than on prices. Side-by-side breakdown below.
Florida
103.4
All-items parity, US = 100.0
Gap
3.4%
Florida more expensive on the all-items parity
Side by side
All key cost dimensions, compared
| Metric | Illinois | Florida | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-items price parity | 100.0 | 103.4 | IL |
| Housing rents parity | 93.9 | 122.1 | IL |
| Median home price | $280,700 | $396,900 | IL |
| Median 2BR rent | $1,333/mo | $1,812/mo | IL |
| Goods parity | 103.8 | 98.1 | FL |
| Utilities parity | 85.0 | 90.1 | IL |
| Other services parity | 100.2 | 101.3 | IL |
| State income tax | Flat 4.95% | None | FL |
| Property tax (effective) | 1.97% | 0.80% | FL |
| State sales tax | 6.25% | 6.00% | FL |
| Median household income | $83,211 | $77,735 | IL |
| Uninsured rate | 6.2% | 12.7% | IL |
| Avg home insurance premium | $1,400-2,000/yr | $3,500-6,500/yr | IL |
Price parities: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, BEA Regional Price Parities by State (table SARPP), 2024 reference year. Other sources: Census ACS 2024 1-year, Tax Foundation, EIA, Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Illinois Department of Revenue. See methodology.
Salary equivalency
What an Illinois salary buys in Florida
Because Illinois is cheaper than Florida on the all-items parity, maintaining Illinois purchasing power in Florida takes more Florida dollars, the inverse of the usual relocation pattern. The uplift is small, 3.4 percent, and the Florida no-income-tax saving more than covers it at every salary below.
Illinois $100,000
$103,400
Equivalent purchasing power needed in Florida.
Less the FL income tax saving of about $4,950
Illinois $150,000
$155,100
Equivalent purchasing power needed in Florida.
Less the FL income tax saving of about $7,425
Illinois $200,000
$206,800
Equivalent purchasing power needed in Florida.
Less the FL income tax saving of about $9,900
Illinois wins on
Where Illinois is the cheaper state
Housing cost. Median home value Illinois $280,700 vs Florida $396,900 (Census ACS 2024 1-year), a 29 percent saving. Chicago is meaningfully cheaper than Miami, Tampa, Orlando, or even Jacksonville on housing.
Home insurance premium. Illinois average homeowner premium $1,400-2,000/year vs Florida $3,500-6,500. The Florida insurance crisis since 2022 has dramatically widened this gap.
Healthcare access. Illinois uninsured rate 6.2 percent vs Florida 12.7 percent. Illinois has expanded Medicaid; Florida has not. Provider networks in Chicago (Northwestern, University of Chicago, Rush) are among the strongest in the country.
Median household income. Illinois $83,211 vs Florida $77,735 (Census ACS 2024 1-year). Illinois incomes are about 7 percent higher, partially offsetting cost differences.
Public transit. Chicago's CTA, Metra, and Pace networks are among the most extensive in the country. Most Florida metros are car-dependent.
Florida wins on
Where Florida is the cheaper state
No state income tax. Zero vs Illinois flat 4.95 percent. On a $200,000 income, the annual saving is about $9,900.
No estate tax. Florida has no state estate tax. Illinois estate tax kicks in above $4 million estate value with no marital deduction match to federal, making it stricter than many other states.
Property tax. Florida 0.80 percent effective vs Illinois 1.97 percent (second-highest in the country). On a $400,000 home, Florida $3,200/year vs Illinois $7,880/year, a difference of $4,680.
Climate (for many). Mild winters everywhere; sub-tropical South Florida. Chicago winters are long and cold with snow from November through March in many years.
Retirement tax treatment. Florida has no state tax on retirement income. Illinois exempts retirement income from qualified plans and Social Security, but the high Illinois property tax often makes Florida the better retiree option financially.
Decision framework
Who should move, who should stay
Move from Illinois to Florida if: You are a retiree with substantial taxable income who would benefit from no state income tax on Social Security, pension, and IRA distributions. You are tired of Chicago winters and high property tax. You can accept the home insurance cost increase. You have a network in Florida (family, friends, snowbird community).
Stay in Illinois if: You are buying a house, where the Florida price premium and insurance premium land hardest and the income tax saving is slowest to catch up. You value strong public transit and high-density urban living that Chicago provides. You have school-age children in high-performing Chicago suburb districts (New Trier, Hinsdale, Naperville). Your career is concentrated in Chicago-based industries (finance, healthcare, professional services).
Counterintuitive insight: the price gap is not the story. Illinois is cheaper than Florida on the federal all-items parity, but by only 3.4 percent, which a 4.95 percent income tax saving clears at any income. What actually reverses the arithmetic for owner-occupiers is Florida home insurance, which runs several thousand dollars a year above the Illinois equivalent and is not a price the parities capture. Illinois property tax at 1.97 percent effective cuts the other way and favours Florida. The clear Florida win cases are retirees with high taxable retirement income, and high earners where the income tax saving scales with income while the price gap does not.
For income-tax-specific analysis see the comparable page on incometaxbystate.com. For no-income-tax-state options more broadly see noincometaxstates.com.
Frequently Asked
Illinois vs Florida, answered
Is Illinois really cheaper than Florida?
On the BEA all-items price parity, yes, by 3.4 percent: Illinois 100.0 vs Florida 103.4, against a US level of 100.0. Illinois sits almost exactly at the national price level. The gap comes from housing rents (IL 93.9 vs FL 122.1) and utilities (IL 85.0 vs FL 90.1); on goods Florida is the cheaper of the two (FL 98.1 vs IL 103.8). Illinois median home $280,700 is one of the cheapest among populous states. The reason Florida is the perennial relocation target despite this is income tax (Florida zero vs Illinois 4.95 percent flat) and weather, not headline cost of living.
What is the Illinois income tax rate?
Flat 4.95 percent on most income, with no graduated brackets. The Illinois Department of Revenue publishes the schedule. A 2020 ballot initiative to allow graduated rates failed at the ballot. Illinois has no separate capital gains rate; gains are taxed at the flat 4.95 percent. Federal income tax applies separately. The flat rate is mid-pack among states with an income tax.
Why is Chicago property tax so high?
Illinois has the second-highest effective property tax rate in the country at 1.97 percent statewide (only New Jersey is higher). Cook County (Chicago) has among the highest effective rates within Illinois. The high property tax is largely a legacy of underfunded public pensions (the state and Chicago have substantial pension obligations relative to peers), which puts upward pressure on local revenue needs. On a $400,000 home, Illinois property tax is roughly $7,900/year vs Florida $3,200/year.
Doesn't the Florida no-income-tax saving wipe out the Illinois housing-cost advantage?
It more than covers it, on those two lines alone. The Illinois price advantage on the BEA all-items parity is 3.4 percent of spending; the Florida income tax saving is 4.95 percent of income. For a $150,000 household income that saving is roughly $7,425 per year against about $5,100 of extra spending needed to hold the same basket. What does not net out so easily is buying a house: median home Florida $396,900 vs Illinois $280,700, a $116,200 difference that translates to about $8,500 per year of additional mortgage at 6.76 percent on the financed portion, plus a Florida home insurance premium several thousand dollars above the Illinois equivalent. Those two, not the price parity, are what decide the comparison.
Is the Florida home insurance cost really that much higher?
Yes, and it has gotten worse since 2022. Average Florida homeowner premium $3,500-6,500 per year vs Illinois $1,400-2,000. Hurricane-exposed coastal Florida counties (Miami-Dade, Broward, Lee, Collier) carry the highest rates. Many private insurers have exited the Florida market; the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance now insures a meaningful share. For Florida homebuyers, the annual insurance premium often exceeds the property tax bill, a reversal of the typical US pattern. Illinois has no such structural insurance pressure.
What about Chicago vs Miami for retirement?
Florida wins decisively for most retirees. Florida has no state income tax (so Social Security, pension, IRA distributions are all untaxed at the state level), no estate tax, and a Save Our Homes assessment cap (3 percent or inflation, whichever is lower) that protects long-term homesteaders from property-tax escalation. Illinois taxes retirement income (the major exception is that Illinois fully exempts Social Security from state tax, plus retirement income from qualified plans). The high Illinois property tax is the dominant retirement-budget pressure. Most Chicago-to-Florida retirees find the move financially favourable on net.
Is downstate Illinois (Springfield, Peoria) a cheaper alternative?
Yes, materially, though the federal parities cannot show it: BEA publishes them by state, so the Illinois figure of 100.0 is one number averaging Chicago with Springfield, Peoria, Bloomington and Rockford. On observable prices, median home in many downstate cities is under $180,000 against a state median of $280,700. The flat 4.95 percent income tax applies statewide, but the property tax structure varies; some downstate counties have property tax rates above the state average because of local levy structures. For a remote worker, downstate Illinois is one of the cheapest US options.